Category: WRC

The final day then and 41km’s three stages to decide the result of this event. Thierry and Seb both returned to the starting line-up and the Belgian would open the road.

 

First up was the classic SS13 Tarzan – 23.37 km and it was a stage win for Elfyn, beating Dani by nine seconds and with that the Welshman was back into second overall. Third fastest was Thierry. In WRC2 there were some changes made overnight with Gus and Andreas being swapped around after some changes to the notional time given to the Norwegian. Nevertheless, he won the stage and reduced Gus’ lead to just 1.1 seconds. Yohan remained in third place.

 

The first run of the power stage, SS14 Grammeni 1 – 9.00 km saw Dani take a good stage win, but with Elfyn setting a time just 1.3 seconds slower the Welshman remained in second place. Ott was third fastest and was holding fourth overall as well. Andreas took the lead of WRC2 as he was fastest again from Adrien and Joona. Gus was now in second place in the category.

 

Well, to the final stage then, SS15 Grammeni 2[Power Stage] – 9.00 km and the Welshman set the pace at the top of the timesheets beating early pace setter Ott and the Welshman confirmed his second-place finish. However, Kalle who had driven through the earlier stages with a measured drive, unleashed his pace which he’d been holding in reserve earlier and came through to win the stage and the rally. Top positions in the stage, Kalle, Elfyn, Ott, Dani and Esapekka. Andreas won the WRC2 category from Gus and Yohan. WRC2 top three in the stage was Joona, Adrien and Andreas.

Let’s take a look at the finishing positions and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification –Acropolis Rally

1	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	3:00:16.7
2	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+1:31.7
3	D. Sordo	C. Carrera	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+1:35.9
4	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid	+4:28.4
5	E. Lappi	J. Ferm	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+6:22.3
6	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+7:20.9
7	A. Mikkelsen	T. Eriksen	Škoda Fabia RS	+9:41.0
8	G. Greensmith	J. Andersson	Škoda Fabia RS	+9:51.3
9	J. Rossel	A. Dunand	Citroën C3	+11:07.0
10	S. Ogier	V. Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+11:43.4

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It’s been a nice weekend, for sure. This rally is always so tricky, and it was a tough week with all the difficult conditions, starting already in the recce. It was a big challenge, and starting first on the road I was not expecting to finish first, so taking 30 points is amazing. Last year we struggled from start to finish in Greece, and this year even as first car we could at least fight with the others. Big thanks to the team, as the car was super strong. We could fight back quite well on Saturday, still staying out of trouble and trying to take care of the car and the tyres which you always need to do on this type of rally. Then I really went for it on the Power Stage, like we always try to do. Now we need to stay consistent and focus on the next rallies.”

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been a pretty up-and-down weekend. If we rewind to Saturday lunchtime, we were very lucky to stay in the rally after the radiator damage. We lost over a minute, so to come back to second place, we have to be happy considering everything. Dani was keeping the pressure on and it was still really tight going into the final stage, so it was good to secure the place in the end and to take some Power Stage points as well. It’s not been a perfect weekend for us in championship terms, as Kalle’s been very strong, so congratulations to him, but we will continue to give it everything. And it’s an incredible result for the team: a credit to everyone for making a leap forward from where we were here last year.”

Sébastien Ogier

“It’s not been the rally we wanted on our side but that’s the way it is sometimes. This is the kind of rally where you need to have luck on your side, with the very rough conditions, and unfortunately, we had an accumulation of issues yesterday and had to stop. Today I tried my best in the Power Stage but starting pretty much in the front was not so easy. At the end, the positive is that we had some good performance this weekend. We were not rewarded for it, but at least the team did another great result with a one-two, both in the rally and in the Power Stage, which is really good for both championships.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Dani Sordo

“I tried everything in that final stage. Elfyn had a little bit of bad luck during the rally, but he has driven very well. I’m not really happy with my performance this weekend, but we managed to finish in third place. Today we were able to go for it, which I really enjoyed, so I’d like to give a big thanks to the team for giving me another opportunity to drive like this. They are striving all the time to improve the car and pushing me to do better, so I will try to continue doing so.”

Esapekka Lappi

“It was good to finish the rally in the way that we did. I was enjoying the final stages, I was aggressively attacking but lost some time as well because of that approach. Still, after two days of problems it was good to have a trouble-free day and an enjoyable drive. Today was ok overall, but it was not our weekend. We need to get better, and next time we will be.”

Thierry Neuville

“Luck wasn’t with us this weekend; yesterday, we were in control of the lead, had a good tyre strategy, and the car was working well. Everything was going perfectly until our suspension failure, and unfortunately that cost us a victory. I enjoyed the driving today, the car was feeling very nice, so that’s a positive to finish the weekend. This may be the end of our championship title hopes, but now we look ahead and target some victories in the final events of the season.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tänak

“It was altogether a very challenging time, not only to the organisers but the whole of Greece. It was extremely tricky and was definitely a big job for them, so to come out from that has been impressive. On the rally side, we can see how quickly the weather can change and that it can change everything.

It’s one of my favourite events, the stages are cool, and it’s not actually so rough. The roads have a really nice flow and most of it is quite wide, so they’re stages you can enjoy.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“It was a great start to the rally, when the stages were quite smooth, but then we had some issues with the tyres and punctures. We lost a lot of time after that, and we were 11th (in WRC2) on Saturday morning, and finishing fourth now, so we can be happy with the rest of the rally.

“The car has been good all weekend, it’s been difficult for everybody because it’s such a tough rally. We can be pleased with the performance of the car when we need it.”

Grégoire Munster

“It’s been a good weekend in Greece, I’m happy about the performance and the stage times we did. For sure Adrien is the reference with the Fiesta and we managed to be close to him, so that’s a good point here. We managed to stay out of trouble, apart from two punctures at the end of stages, and with that we managed to secure a strong end position and win in the WRC2 Challenger class.

“About Chile; we’re really excited to be there, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity so we want to just grab as much experience as possible and then look to reuse that back in WRC2.”

Jourdan Serderidis

“17th overall and 1st Greek driver: it was the objective, but you still needed to achieve it! First Greek means so much to me. Fred and myself, had a fantastic week, without punctures, without big moments and with decent speed. So, I am very happy!”

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 10

1	K. Rovanperä	200
2	E. Evans	167
3	T. Neuville	134
4	O. Tänak	119
5	S. Ogier	99
6	E. Lappi	98
7	T. Katsuta	66
8	D. Sordo	63
9	T. Suninen	34
10	P.L Loubet	28

 

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 10

1	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team	430
2	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	339
3	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	220

Summary

What an incredible rally then. The roads had lots of surprises for the crews, in particular the single run stages on Friday. It was a good battle throughout the Friday’s stages between Seb and Thierry which continued into Saturday. It did not continue though and with Seb also suffering a problem on Saturday’s final stage, Kalle was there to take his third victory of the year with a drive where he kept out of trouble. Elfyn overcame a tyre off the rim and also the technical problem with his engine to take an excellent podium and also with second fastest in the power stage good points for the championship.

 

Dani also kept out of trouble as well and took yet another podium. He is a really good driver and deserves the success he took this weekend.

 

Next round is over the weekend of the 28^th of September to the 1^st of October in Chile. Look out for my preview just before.

Coming into day two Thierry held a narrow lead over Seb with six stages and 141km’s ahead of them. Jourdan would open the road throughout the day in his Puma, the Greek driver set to enjoy himself again.

 

Into SS7 Pavliani 1 – 24.25 km and Kalle was fastest from Seb and Thierry. Seb retook the lead at the end of the stage, now leading the Belgian by 7.8 seconds. In WRC2 Andreas was fastest in the stage from Marco and Yohan who continued to lead the category from Marco who’d made his way into second overall, pushing Gus down to third overall.

 

Next up was SS8 Karoutes 1 – 28.49 km and guess what! Thierry retook the lead from Seb who’d gone straight on at a left-hand junction! The gap remained very small though, just two seconds between them. Seb was second fastest in the stage and Elfyn third, the Welshman moving ahead of Dani and back into fourth place. Andreas made it another category win from Marco and Joona, whilst the category top three remained Yohan, Marco and Gus.

 

The final stage before the service break then, SS9 Eleftherochori 1 – 18.02 km and Kalle was fastest from Thierry and Seb again. This trio were dominating the top of the timesheets. There was drama for Elfyn though as he stopped near the end of the stage with a warning light on his dash. Having switched to EV mode, he and Scott finished the stage, losing a huge amount of time sadly and Dani moved back ahead into fourth place, however just 6.4 seconds remained between the crews. There was drama in WRC2 though as second placed Marco crashed out. Andreas was again fastest from Gus and Sami, whilst Yohan continued to lead from new second placed Gus and Sami was now third.

 

After the service break, SS10 Pavliani 2 – 24.25 km saw Kalle set the fastest time from Seb and Elfyn, whose GR Yaris had been fixed. We had a new leader as well. Yep, Thierry had not just lost the lead, his steering was broken, and he was out for the day. There was a change also in the lead of WRC2 as Yohan suffered a puncture and fell to third place. Gus took over the lead, whilst Andreas came into second place.

 

Kalle also won SS11 Karoutes 2 – 28.49 km from Seb and Elfyn. The Welshman moved into third place overall with his pace through this one, although he did suffer a tyre off the rim. His teammate, Takamoto had a terrible stage, suffering a double puncture! Crazy stuff. Andreas was quickest again in WRC2 from Adrien and Gus. The Brit continued to hold the lead from Andreas and Yohan.

The final stage then of the day, SS12 Eleftherochori 2 – 18.02 km which had a sting in its tail… Seb and Kalle were battling for the lead, and it was great to see the Toyota teammates allowed to fight in the way they were really going for it. However, the Frenchman suffered a rear suspension failure and stopped on the stage to try and fix the problem. It could not be done though, and they finished the stage with two flat tyres and also the left rear suspension at a very bad angle. They did attempt to make it back to the service, but they were not able to and that meant they were out. Meanwhile Dani and Elfyn continued to fight, and now this was for second overall, the Spanish crew moved ahead again of Elfyn and Scott. Incredibly there was a lead change also in WRC2 with Andreas passing Gus! Yohan remained in third place.

Let’s check the top places and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day Two

1	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	2:29:40.5
2	D. Sordo	C. Carrera	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+2:04.4
3	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+2:09.4
4	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid	+4:49.7
5	E. Lappi	J. Ferm	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+6:16.2
6	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+7.02.2

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“I think we had a good day today. We were fast and we were also really consistent, which is quite important in a rally like this. Like we saw today, a lot of things can happen. It’s not nice when those things happen to a team-mate, and Seb was driving a good rally. I had the championship to think about, so I tried to avoid taking the last risk all the time and it worked out pretty well. I can be pretty happy with the pace also. We were pushing hard but still driving clever, backing off in the rough places. Of course, tomorrow will still be a tricky day and we need to stay clever, but hopefully we can get it done.”

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been a tough day out there. It’s been quite a mix during the day with different conditions all the time. We picked up some trouble on the last stage before service this morning, so in one sense we’re lucky to still be in the rally. We didn’t have a lot of margin to get the car back, but we managed to do it and although it was a shame to drop the time, it was good to still be in the fight. Then the afternoon was quite rough in places, and I was trying to look after the car as much as possible. I’m happy to be here tonight and it’s still all to fight for tomorrow.”

Sébastien Ogier

“It was a challenging start already this morning with some muddy sections in the first stage, and the last one was quite rough. Our first loop could have been better, but I was happy to get through without big drama. Then the whole afternoon was quite eventful. In the place where Thierry had his issue, I also had an impact and some damage, but we managed to continue with good pace. Then, leaving the regroup before the last stage we lost hybrid. After a couple of kilometres we started to have a puncture at the rear, and then a second one. I tried to carry on slowly but unfortunately exiting a hairpin I heard a very small bang, and the left-rear upright was broken. I tried everything I could to fix it and bring the car back, but it was too much.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Dani Sordo

I am quite happy with today; I would like to be closer to the others, but we managed the conditions quite well and now we are in second. In all honesty, while the stages were a little bit demanding, they were much better than we expected. The second stage of the loops was slippery and hard on the tyres – a proper Acropolis stage – and Eleftherotori had stones everywhere, so we had to take it very carefully for the car. In the end, we have no problems on the car, which is very important. We have a lot of work to do tonight – tomorrow is a long day, and the stages were in a really bad condition during the recce, but hopefully we can bring home a good result for the team.”

Esapekka Lappi

“A bit too much action today! Our issues started yesterday, and then continued today with the handbrake in the morning and then later the transmission. For sure, the result is really bad; I don’t know what I could do differently. I guess it is just bad luck. The conditions today were much better; we thought during the recce it would be a lot tougher, but it’s dried up a lot and I thought the stages were quite good. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow; we’ll keep our eyes on Power Stage points, but first we need to get there.”

Thierry Neuville

“We were leading the rally but unfortunately, we were forced to retire for the day on SS10. We were about 11km into the stage, following the line, when we drove over a hole and the suspension broke. We don’t know exactly what broke, I think the accumulation of vibration and shocks throughout the weekend caused a suspension failure after an impact. At the end of the day, this is one of the roughest rallies of the season, and this year it is particularly tough for the cars. It’s very frustrating to be unlucky again this weekend considering all the hard work and efforts everybody puts in to get the best possible result. The performance was there but everything needs to be perfect to score the maximum points. Now, we look forward to the upcoming event to finish on a high on the last three rallies of the season.”

Sunday

Well, just three stages to complete this event, with the classic Tarzan stage before two runs of Grammeni, last seen in 2005. Can Kalle hold on to win? He can, but will there be a final sting in the tail? Also, can Elfyn pass Dani once more and secure second place on the podium?

The first full day of action would see the crews tackle some really tricky sectors in the stages today. There were a couple of complex matters as well for the first day with no service and also only one of the five stages run twice, with the three other stages only being run one time, plus the final stage of the day almost 30km’s.

 

Into SS2 Loutraki 1 – 10.37 km and Thierry was fastest from Seb and Ott. These three were now the top three, with the Belgian leading the way from Ott and Seb. Kalle held fourth overall at this point, just 5.1 from the lead. Sadly, for Pierre-Louis he was out for the day after suffering a technical problem on the way to the stage. In WRC2 Sami was fastest from Adrien and Yohan. These three were the top three as well, with Adrien leading the way from Yohan and Sami.

 

The second stage of the day then, SS3 Pissia – 16.43 km, with the tyre fitting zone to follow and the conditions in the stage with some damp sections suited the Finn being first into the stage and he was fastest from Thierry and Seb. The Finns time saw him jump two positions up the leaderboard and into second overall, just two seconds behind Thierry. In WRC2, Adrien was quickest again from Yohan by a huge 8.1 seconds, whilst Kajetan made his way into third overall. Erstwhile third placed Sami dropped two places as well.

After the tyre fitting zone back to SS4 Loutraki 2 – 10.37 km and Seb was fastest from Thierry and EP. The final car to come through was Jourdan in his Puma. Sadly, the WRC2 runners would not get the opportunity to have a second run through the stage with some idiots standing in the ruts on the inside of a corner. The remaining runners were given a notional time.

 

Next up was SS5 Livadia – 21.03 km and Ott was fastest from Thierry and Seb. The Belgian continued to hold the lead and had actually increased the gap to Seb by five seconds. Sadly, Elfyn dropped two places to sixth overall with Esapekka and Dani gaining a place ahead of the Welshman. In WRC2 Lauri was fastest from Sami and Marco, whilst Adrien remained in the lead from Yohan and Sami who had just moved into third place in the category.

 

The final stage then of the day, SS6 Elatia – 28.32 km and a great run from Ott and Seb who were fastest from Elfyn. The Welshman regained two positions and was back into fourth overall. Dani suffered a small, short stop and lost a lot of time. In WRC2 Andreas was fastest from Marco and Robert. Sadly, Adrien fell from the lead to tenth in the category after having to stop to change a wheel.

 

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day One

1	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	55:10.4
2	S. Ogier	V. Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+2.8
3	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+25.5
4	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+31.0
5	E. Lappi	J. Ferm	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+32.1
6	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+41.7
7	D. Sordo	C. Carrera	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+48.6

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“That last stage was stressful; not only was it a challenging one at 28km, but from the very start I could hear a noise coming from the rear differential. I was having a problem with the transmission on previous stages but just on the start line until SS6 Elatia. I couldn’t go full throttle for the first three gears, which was costing me a lot of time. I was a bit worried we wouldn’t make it to the end; thankfully we did. The difficult part now for us is to make our tyre choice tomorrow – we have no opportunity to react in the morning, so we need to make that decision tonight. I’m convinced we made the right call today to be fastest; whether it was a good choice to help us win the rally, we will only know at the end of the weekend.”

Esapekka Lappi

“When we came to the stop line on SS4, we saw the low water pressure alarm and then found the leak. I think it’s both sides of the radiator which got damaged; we managed to fix the front, but the rear we couldn’t. We have been adding water at the stage finishes as well as some other locations – we saw a tap outside a restaurant, so we got some from there as well! Regardless, today’s main struggle was not this problem with the car, but more the conditions on the stages. I never felt really satisfied. We tried something new, but I think we need to go back to my normal set-up. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow; today we tried to maximise the grip, but we compromised elsewhere, and I didn’t feel comfortable. I’d like to take a more cautious approach that allows me to push.”

 

Dani Sordo

“It was so difficult to know where the muddy places are, the stages have changed a lot between the recce and now. I stalled the engine under braking on the final stage, however it was not an amazing day for me overall. Of course, the conditions were tricky, but I did not have good pace. In normal conditions the road cleaning effect is quite high, which might have benefitted us, but it isn’t noticeable this year. We don’t know what tomorrow will be like, but if the stages are anything like what we saw in the recce, it could be really bad. It will be a challenging day if the surface hasn’t dried out quickly.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It was quite a big challenge today. The stages were drying up much more than we expected, so there was actually quite a lot of cleaning for us to do. When it was a bit damp and muddy, we could do some good times, like in SS3 this morning. Then this afternoon we were suffering a bit more with the road position with a lot of loose gravel, and I felt I left a bit of time on the last one. But at least the starting place is now better for tomorrow although there could still be some surprises with the conditions after so much rain.”

Sébastien Ogier

“It’s been a good start to the rally for us. I was happy to be back in the car at racing speed, although I maybe had to drive a couple of kilometres first before I could be at 100 per cent. Some sections were challenging but luckily the sun was there and helped the roads to dry very quickly. It’s good to be so close to the lead, which is where we want to be, in the fight for the win. But we need to carry on like this tomorrow, which is the biggest part of the rally with long stages and rough conditions.”

Elfyn Evans

“The conditions were pretty tough at points today, but they were probably a lot better overall than what we had expected. The sun came out and the mud dried up quite a lot during the afternoon. We were probably a bit too much on the cautious side for most of the day, but it was a bit better on that last one and we managed to come back up the leaderboard. It was quite difficult to strike the balance, and some of the stages were cleaning quite a bit. There’s still a lot of driving left to do this weekend in some difficult conditions, so we need to use our head.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tanak

“The day was not too bad, just the one tyre fitting zone, we had some changes. After that the water pump didn’t start. We had quite a busy time there, somehow the mechanics managed to solve it.”

Saturday

The second full day of this rally will see the crews face six stages and 141km’s. Can Thierry hold onto his lead, or will the Toyota drivers be able to pass the Belgian?

After the summer break for the teams, which I might add that all the teams have been testing throughout the month or so since the last round in Finland, the championship moves to the one of the iconic rallies of all.

Elfyn and Scott come to this event as the winners of the last round and with their teammates Kalle and Jonne not scoring last time out the Finnish champions saw their lead in the title race cut to twenty-five points.

Of course, Thierry and Martijn took a great result in Finland, the best for the Belgian in the rally for ten years. Coming to this event, will they be able to make the most of their road position? Time for them to put together a good run and take some points from the top two? They will want to finish ahead of the top two crews. Let’s wait and see how that goes.

Ott and Martin in their Puma will hope for a better run than in Finland. The team will have been working hard to get the car to a better position for the 2019 champions to take another victory this year. Certainly, the crew and team deserve a very good result.

This year sees the crews tackle 15 stages over the three days. The original total competitive stood at 307km’s but there have been some changes announced today, 6^th of September with the removal of 20km’s from Sunday’s three stages.

After shakedown on Thursday morning, Acropolis Rally starts that evening with the brand-new 1.48km EKO Super Special Stage. Now cancelled!

Friday will open with the scenic SS2 Loutraki 1 (18.10km), a stage set amongst Greek mountains and dirt tracks followed by SS3 Pissia (16.43km), a second loop of Loutraki, SS5 Livadia (21.03km) and SS6 Elatia (28.32km) to close the day.

Saturday’s running will consist of six stages, including two passes of the weekend’s longest challenge: Karoutes (28.49km)

Three final tests on Sunday, including the 19.77km SS15 Grammeni 2 Power Stage, will bring the event to a close. 20km’s have been removed from the final day’s full running.

Let’s hear from the drivers.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It’s been good to have a small break after Rally Finland and a chance to rest and recover before Greece. The Acropolis is a classic event and we have had some real highs and lows there in the past two years: to win on our first time there in 2021 was really nice, and then last year it was a tough weekend for us. I’m sure that it won’t be easy this time either as we will be opening the road again on Friday. But together with the team we have been working to improve for these conditions and we will definitely try our best to score some good points.”

Elfyn Evans

“It was very nice to win in Finland, but we know that Greece is a very different rally. After the smooth and fast roads of Estonia and Finland, the Acropolis is one of the roughest gravel events we face during the year. It therefore requires something rather different in terms of car setup, something closer to the other rough rallies we’ve done earlier this year. We haven’t had a lot of luck in Greece the past two years, and if it’s dry then it could be a challenge on Friday running second on the road, but we’ll look to do the best job we can like always.”

Sébastien Ogier

“I’ve had some nice time off over the summer but I’m excited to get back in the GR YARIS and to compete in Greece. I really like the country and also the rally too. For most of my career, it was unfortunately not on the calendar, but now it’s back and I have motivation to do well there. I managed to win it once, and like always the plan will be to try and fight for another victory. Usually on this kind of rally with dry gravel, my road position should help me. But two years ago we actually had quite a wet and muddy rally, so let’s see. On this kind of event you need to be fast but also get through without trouble; the roads are very rocky, and it’s hard for the tyres and the cars.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“I would rate Acropolis Rally as one of the harder events on the WRC calendar. It’s a bit of an endurance race across three days, three different areas, three different types of stages, which all feature rough conditions and hot temperatures. You need reliability, a strong car and the right setup for every challenge; if you can be comfortable in the car in every circumstance, it’s easier to go fast. Last year, we were much stronger than our competitors, so we were able to secure a 1-2-3. It was a great achievement for the whole team, for the brand, and for us drivers as well; being a part of the 1-2-3 for Hyundai Motorsport – our first – was an amazing feeling. Hopefully it is something we can repeat.”

Esapekka Lappi

After Safari Rally Kenya, Acropolis Rally is the toughest event of the season. It hasn’t been too gruelling in previous years as they have made a lot of repairs to the roads. However, it is either really tough or very hot, and sometimes it’s even both, and that is what makes this rally special. It’s very demanding for the tyres and brakes, and the drivers as well, as we have to keep hydrated. You need to stay out of trouble and try to keep the car on the clean lines to get maximum grip all the time. The goal is to make it onto the podium. That’s where I want to be on Sunday, so this needs to be what we push for.”

Dani Sordo

“Acropolis Rally is really rough, which is becoming more typical for these types of gravel rallies. In general, there is a lot of grip because the surface is quite hard on the tyres. Usually, we run the car a little higher in Greece than at other events because of the surface and the stones. It’s not a big change, but it just gives a little more protection to the car. We are expecting hot weather which will also add to the challenge. However, we don’t have any particular preparations for this, we just need to drink a little bit more water and battle through it. It would be amazing this year to repeat our 1-2-3 finish from last season, but our goal is to just get the best out of the car, keep it clean and score as many points as we can.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tänak

“It’s been nice to have a few weeks off training and to get my mind fresh and ready for the last four events. Greece will be tough for us and the car as well, but I’m looking forward to push there. We will put all in to finish the year with great emotions!”

Pierre-Louis Loubet

“Going back to Greece after what happened last year is a fantastic feeling; after leading the rally and getting my first stage wins there in 2022. It was a great souvenir and a really strong event for us. So I hope we can do the same again and this time make the podium! So, let’s see, the feeling was very good in the car during the test which is a very positive thing.”

Jourdan Serderidis

“Obviously I can’t wait to be in the Puma’s seat for my home WRC event with so many Greek fans! I will try to be at the level the event demands, I believe we have prepared this event even better than the other ones. So, I am reasonably confident to get a nice result and fight for the Greek cup, even though there are some very good Greek drivers in Rally2!”

Adrien Fourmaux

“I last did Greece in 2021 with the Fiesta WRC and I can’t wait for next week. I really like this rally; it’s tough when it’s dry but sometimes you can get some rain in the mountains which makes it very interesting! There are a lot of spectators, it’s a really famous rally because it’s so tough, but I had a really nice feeling two years ago. With the long stages and the heat inside the car, it’s a big challenge for everybody. But I want to enjoy this one and hope to get a good result in a very competitive field of Rally2s.”

Grégoire Munster

“I’m excited to go back to Greece, we competed there last year too. We’ve done a few events on gravel in the Fiesta now, and the confidence is always getting better. I’m really looking forward to the rally, but not so much the temperatures! It can get really hot inside the cars, but that’s just how it is!”

Robert Virves

“I’m really looking forward to getting behind the wheel again after the accident in Finland. My season so far has been a bit disappointing, in terms of my performance and results. Greece might be the last rally for me this year, so I must get myself together and deliver a proper result.”

Oliver Solberg

“We know we have to win and that’s what we’re pushing for,” said Oliver. “Of course, we’re always chasing the win – it’s why we are doing this sport. But right now, with the championship coming towards the end, we know we need the maximum score on these events and that’s what we’ll be looking for.”

“Acropolis is definitely one of the classics,” he said. “Last time out it was Finland, and this was one of the big rallies of the year and Greece is the same, but for different reasons. It’s iconic because of how tough it is – to win this rally you have to take the speed and the sensible approach at the same time.

“The competition is going to be tough here, a lot of the guys around me were here last year and they have more of an idea for the roads. There are some new stages which will help but maybe it’s the weather which is going to make this week even harder.

“There’s a lot of talk about the storms coming and bringing a lot of rain. If that happens, it could have a big impact on the road – it will certainly make an already interesting rally even more complicated!

“I tested on Saturday and the conditions were good. The road was rough, so it’s always hard to judge the speed in places like this. The car felt good and now we’re ready to get going.”

 Summary

The weather has been really challenging over the start of this week with torrential rain on the stages as the crews carried out recce. There are concerns over the conditions with very heavy rain and some flooding as well. News broke on Wednesday afternoon that shakedown which was due to be run on Thursday morning is cancelled. In addition, the double running of the Grammeni stage has been shorted to 9km’s with the removal of 10km’s from the stage.

With the conditions being really challenging, anyone just having a clean weekend could win this rally and predictions are hard to make.

This will likely be a really classic event. Enjoy!

The final day then with Elfyn and Scott leading the event by 32.1 seconds over Thierry and Martijn. There was a battle to the finish between Takamoto and Teemu for the final podium spot. I should correct myself following yesterday’s report. Takamoto has already taken three podiums at the top level, so could this be his fourth at the top level?

There remained 51km’s over four stages to decide the 2023 edition of this truly classic rally. Once again Pierre-Louis would open the road throughout the final day.

Into SS19 Moksi – Sahloinen 1 – 16.56 km and Elfyn was fastest from Teemu and Takamoto. The Finn had closed the gap to third placed Takamoto, just 4.5 seconds between them. Elfyn’s pace had increased his lead to 36.6 seconds. Meanwhile in WRC2 the top three fastest were Emil, Roope and Andreas, whilst the top three overall remained Sami, Adrien and Nikolay.

Next up was SS20 Himos – Jämsä 1 – 9.26 km and Takamoto won the stage from Thierry and Teemu. The Finn had a wild moment on the top of the hill as he came down the hill. In WRC2 Nikolay was fastest from Emil and Andreas whilst the top three in the category remained the same.

Into the penultimate stage then, SS21 Moksi – Sahloinen 2 – 16.56 km and Elfyn was again fastest from Thierry and Teemu. In WRC2 Emil was fastest from Nikolay and Sami who remained firmly in charge of the category. He and Enni were on their way to a likely first category win.

It was time for the final stage and early pace setter Pierre-Louis’s time was eclipsed by Jari-Matti as the Finnish legend completed his 210 WRC event. Thierry came through to set the fastest time. The big question was now could or would Elfyn push to take the stage win and all five points to go with it? Well, he was up on every single split and won the stage by nine tenths of a second. What a drive from the Welsh wizard, taking his second Finnish win. In WRC2 Sami and Enni took their first victory, this coming after their first podium in the category last time out in Estonia.

Let’s take a look at the top ten.

Final Overall Classification –Rally Finland

1	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	2:33:11.3
2	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+39.1
3	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+1:36.7
4	T. Suninen	M. Markkula	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+1:41.0
5	J. M. Latvala	J. Hänninen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+4:09.4
6	O. Solberg	E. Edmondson	Škoda Fabia RS	+9:33.6
7	S. Pajari	E. Mälkönen	Škoda Fabia RS	+10:03.7
8	A. Fourmaux	A. Coria	Ford Fiesta Mk II	+10:37.5
9	N. Gryazin	K. Aleksandrov	Škoda Fabia RS	+11:11.5
10	A. Mikkelsen	T. Eriksen	Škoda Fabia RS	+11:35.2

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans 1^st Overall

“It’s been a great weekend for us, and it feels pretty special to win this rally for the second time. It’s one of my favourites and a home rally for the team with the factory being based in Jyväskylä. It also feels really special to win with Akio here this weekend and to share the podium with him and with Taka as well. It’s been fantastic to drive this car on these roads and it’s been a joy to be behind the wheel. We had a really nice feeling almost from the beginning. We were sorry to lose Kalle from the fight on Friday but then we could make a few little steps with the setup for Saturday which really boosted my confidence. Things really clicked and the stage times came naturally. It’s a positive weekend in terms of the championship as well and we’re now a bit closer to Kalle than we were before.”

Takamoto Katsuta 3^rd Overall

“I’m very happy to be on the podium at Rally Finland, my second home rally. It’s a really big thing for me and the team and also for Akio-san. He was giving me extra energy and motivation which was helping in the really intense battle that we had with Teemu. He was doing a really good job so it was not so easy, but we managed to make some gap on Saturday evening when the conditions were tricky, and this made the final day a bit less stressful. After Rally Estonia we worked really hard together with the team’s engineers to analyse where I could improve, and this was why I could perform well already from Friday morning. I must also say thanks to Kalle who was giving me advice during our tests for driving these Finnish roads.”

Jari-Matti Latvala 5^th Overall

“It has been an amazing and fun feeling all weekend, I really enjoyed the driving in this car. Thank you to Akio and the team for giving me this great opportunity. It’s been something really phenomenal that I will remember for the rest of the life. It was extraordinary to be able to drive relaxed without having to think about the results. When the conditions were difficult, we could just drive with our own rhythm and to end up fifth overall and even score in the Power Stage, it’s just fantastic. It is also really special to see Elfyn on the top step of the podium and Takamoto in third and I’m really happy for both of them.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville 2^nd Overall

“It is a big relief to be back on the Rally Finland podium after ten years of what I would say was a struggle. It shows that the team and the changes that are ongoing are heading in the right direction. I think it’s clearly a sign that we have to carry on. I’m happy we have a bit of a break as this weekend was quite exhausting, but we have done the job. Thank you to the team.”

Teemu Suninen 4^th Overall

“I would say the result itself is quite good even if there is some disappointment to miss out the podium. There is a lot to process after these two rallies that will help prepare the next one and come back stronger. It has been a pleasure working with the Hyundai Motorsport team, they are really supporting me and giving me everything they can. I’m really looking forward to the next rally together.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux, 2^nd in WRC2, 7^th Overall

“I have to say that the team has been working really well and we had a great result here in Finland. We had no issues at all on the car, it was a perfect weekend for us, we had all the info we needed in the stages. We are really happy; it wasn’t in the plan to be here and finishing this rally on the podium in second position is a great consolation for everybody and for us. I was really happy to be fighting with the Finnish drivers on these roads, it was quite special.”

Grégoire Munster, 9^th in WRC2, 15^th Overall

“It was a good rally for us, we learned quite a lot. The pace was improving steadily stage by stage, even though on some stages we had difficult weather conditions. We had to try different things with the set up and so that was also a very nice learning experience.”

Pierre-Louis Loubet, 46^th Overall

“I am quite disappointed about the weekend, we tried to be on the pace, but unfortunately, I hit a tree and had to restart. We did a good day on Saturday, but today it was difficult to maintain a high pace as we were nursing a small issue with the engine that meant we lost some power. We tried our best during the power stage to score more points.

“Greece is next, we had some strong pace there last year and I hope everything goes well there. I think even though not everything is going in the right direction with results, the progress is there, and we just need to keep pushing.”

Ott Tänak, Retired Friday

“Of course, we are disappointed, after Estonia this isn’t how we wanted this week to go. It’s a shame we can’t continue but the car is too damaged for us to carry on.

“Now it’s time to have a break after a busy few months, then we will focus fully on Greece in September.”

 

Toksport

Oliver Solberg

“I am so happy,” he said. “When we came here, we came after two really bad results in Finland [in 2021 and 2022]. I really wanted to make experience on these roads. “On Friday, I was taking a little bit more time. It was my first time in roads like Myhinpää – a really big and classic stage in Finland. I didn’t want to make any mistakes and I was driving with some margin and not taking anything like the ultimate risks.

“I wanted to feel my way into Finland, to take the confidence I’d been missing for the last two years. I didn’t change anything through Estonia and here in Finland, the set-up was working so well – and I could push and take time. “Everybody knows the local drivers are strong in Finland, so to come here and beat them all is something incredible for me. The fight with the Finns was so cool and this rally is so cool – always you’re battling for seconds and tenths of seconds on these amazing roads. “Today was more about managing things and driving at a decent pace to get to the finish with the win.”

Summary

Well, what a fantastic victory for Elfyn and Scott. Their second win on these fast roads again confirm they should never be written off. Their second win of this season and seventh overall win for Elfyn, six for Scott has brought them into the fight for this year’s championship, now just 25 points away from their teammates, Kalle and Jonne.

Thierry and Martijn scored their best result as a crew on this event since they started together in 2021. It was also Thierry’s best result on this event for ten years, his last podium coming in 2013 when he had Nicolas co-driving and they were at M-Sport.

Finally, Takamoto and Aaron had a brilliant drive to a fourth ever podium taking some good stage wins on each day and this was their third podium as a crew.

Next rally is the Acropolis Rally from the 7^th to the 10^th of September. The teams will enjoy a good break and come back to complete this year’s championship.

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 9

1	K. Rovanperä	170
2	E. Evans	145
3	T. Neuville	134
4	O. Tänak	104
5	S. Ogier	98
6	E. Lappi	87
7	T. Katsuta	58
8	D. Sordo	46
9	T. Suninen	34
10	P.L Loubet	28

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 9

1	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team	378
2	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	311
3	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	205

The second day of action from Finland dawned with Elfyn holding the lead from Thierry, the gap sitting at 6.9 seconds between the top two. The crews faced eight stages and a total of 160 of competitive kilometres.

Pierre-Louis Loubet returned for M-Sport and would open the road throughout Saturday’s stages. There was news that surprised many though with Kalle and Jonne not restarting at all. The damage to the 69 GR Yaris was too high and the world champions would not be returning.

The action started with SS11 Västilä 1 – 18.94 km and Elfyn was quick out of the blocks, going 4.6 seconds faster than Thierry, thus increasing his lead to 11.5 seconds. Teemu was third fastest, taking 8 tenths of a seconds from Takamoto’s lead as the pair fought over third overall. In WRC2, Sami was fastest from Marco and Mikko, whilst the category was led by Jari from Sami and Adrien who moved up into third overall.

Next up was SS12 Päijälä 1 – 20.19 km and Elfyn was fastest again by 4 tenths of a second over Thierry. Takamoto had a spin in this one and fell behind Teemu, the Finn taking third overall. Top three remained the same in WRC2.

Elfyn maintained the great pace out there in SS13 Rapsula 1 – 20.56 km winning again by 3.4 seconds from Thierry and Takamoto was third, who closed the gap a little to Teemu who remained in third overall. Gus drove well in this one, setting the best time in WRC2 with Sami matching the Brit’s time and Roope third fastest. Meanwhile Jari remained in charge of the category leading from Sami and Adrien.

Elfyn made it four out of four in the final morning stage, with Thierry second and Takamoto third and reduced the gap even further to just a second to Teemu who remained third overall. The Welshman had increased his lead over Thierry to 17.7 seconds and was firmly in charge.

Into the afternoon stages with the rerun of SS15 Västilä 2 – 18.94 km and Elfyn was really fast in this one, with Thierry second but 7.8 slower than the leader. Meanwhile Takamoto regained third overall moving ahead of Teemu by just eight tenths of a second. Meanwhile it was all change in WRC2 with Jari suffering an engine problem and falling down from the lead. Sami moved into the lead from Adrien and Andreas.

Next up was SS16 Päijälä 2 – 20.19 km and Elfyn was again fastest from Thierry by another good margin of 4.5 seconds. Teemu moved back past Takamoto as their battle for third place continued, moving ahead by just three tenths of a second.

Just two stages left and Elfyn won SS17 Rapsula 2 – 20.56 km from Thierry and Takamoto. Just a tenth of a second separated Teemu and Takamoto in their fight for third place. Sami also remained in charge of WRC2 with a similar lead to Elfyn’s over Thierry.

The final stage then of the day, SS18 Vekkula 2 – 20.65 km and it was a clean sweep for the Toyota squad as Takamoto won the final stage of the day from Thierry and Elfyn. The Japanese stars pace and also a problem for Teemu with the loss of his front splitter meant he’d retaken third overall. In WRC2 Adrien was fastest from Sami and Emil. There was a change for third though in the category as Andreas suffered a tyre off the rim and dropped almost 11.8 seconds and one place. Benefitting from this was Nikolay, going back into third place.

Let’s check the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day Two

1	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	2:08:07.0
2	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+32.1
3	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+1:27.8
4	T. Suninen	M. Markkula	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+1:34.2
5	J. M. Latvala	J. Hänninen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+3:39.5

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“The feeling’s been good today and the car has been working well. We’ve had the confidence to push and also been able to focus on driving cleanly where necessary. Conditions were difficult at times, especially in the last stage, but we seemed to have everything under control and we’re obviously happy to be in this position tonight. We had some incredible stages today, some of the best in the world, and to have a car that’s working as we want in those conditions has been mega and reminds me of the feeling, we had here in 2021. But there is still some distance to go tomorrow, and we’re focused on what we need to do to bring the car home in this position.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“This morning was tricky as it was still raining quite a lot. In the first stage I was struggling to judge the grip, and then in the second one I was trying to drive better but I made a small mistake that cost us a lot of time. After that, I was trying to fight back but the time gaps were very close, and we were only gaining a few tenths of a second on each stage. But we knew the last stage could have difficult conditions so I decided to push as much as I can. Of course, there was risk, but I knew it could put us in a better position for tomorrow if we could make some time, and luckily we could. Tomorrow will still be a big challenge, but I will try my best.”

Jari-Matti Latvala

“It has been good fun again today. It’s always nice to go to these stages around Jämsä which are wide, fast and flowing with usually a lot of people spectating, and the atmosphere was really nice. The conditions were a bit challenging with a lot of rain, but it was still enjoyable most of the time. The last stage of the day was more like Safari, with big ruts full of water and a lot of mud coming to the windscreen. But it has been great to see so many people cheering for us on the stages and telling us that we’re doing well. The boost I’m getting from them is giving me an amazing feeling and I hope to carry that until the finish tomorrow.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“It wasn’t the day we were hoping for, but still it was a good one. We had some speed this morning, but it was trickier this afternoon. Challenging weather conditions made it difficult for us to keep the car on the road. We tried to push hard but, in the end, we had to settle provisionally for second behind a very quick Elfyn. We’re satisfied though, we weren’t expecting to be in this position in Finland. We’ve done a good job and the car was working fine. The championship hasn’t been easy up until now, but our hope isn’t lost, so let’s see how many points we can maximise from this event.”

Teemu Suninen

“It’s been a good day for us until the last stage. Generally, throughout the day we have been able to catch Takamoto, then pass him and have a proper fight, but we lost time on the final stage. The ruts were full of water, so it was difficult to adjust the speed and assess the grip level in the muddy places. It would be great to get the podium, especially in only my second rally in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid but it is a tricky, long day ahead – still we have a good chance, so we have to go for it.”

Summary

Well, what a brilliant day for Elfyn and Scott. We have seen this kind of drive before from them at many rallies over the last few years and the way he gapped Thierry and Martijn on these incredible stages was fantastic. They utterly deserve to win tomorrow, and it will be a case of bringing it home.

Thierry and Martijn just did not have an answer to the Toyota crew today, but this has been one of the best performances at this rally for over a decade.

Takamoto could take a third career podium in his adopted home land, let’s see if he can hold off Teemu tomorrow.

The first full day of action saw some real drama on the quick stages of Finland. The world champion would open the road throughout the day, courtesy of being the championship leader. The crews faced 108km’s over nine stages in total with the usual four stages being rerun in the afternoon and the second run of Harju which was the opener yesterday evening. The early top three from Thursday evening stage, was Ott, Thierry and Kalle.

First up then, SS2 Laukaa 1 – 11.78 km and Takamoto was fastest from Elfyn and Kalle. What a great stage from the Japanese star! There were a few changes in the leaderboard with Kalle moving into the lead from Ott, just four tenths of a second between the top two, with Elfyn on the same overall time as the Estonian. It was Thierry who fell a couple of places and was just half a second ahead of Takamoto as they fought for fourth overall.

The next one, SS3 Lankamaa 1 – 14.21 km was where we saw the first bit of drama with Ott exiting the stage after an impact to the bottom of the engine and this saw the Puma lose power, The Estonian pair were out not only for the day, but it was later confirmed that they would not be re-joining for the remaining two days. It was a double whammy for M-Sport as well, with Pierre-Louis taking a wheel off his Puma. What a shame for the Cumbrian based team. Everyone gained a place apart from the two leaders Kalle and Elfyn who were separated by just 2.2 seconds. In WRC2 Sami was holding the lead from Jari, the gap even closer at 1.5 seconds.

The top three in SS4 Myhinpää 1 – 15.51 km was Kalle, Elfyn and Esapekka. The two top Hyundai crews were beginning to fight for the final spot on the podium, just 0.3 separating them at the end of this one. In WRC2 Sami was fastest from Emil and Adrien and there was a change in the top two, with Emil moving ahead into second, Jari dropping one place to third.

The final stage of the morning loop then, SS5 Halttula 1 – 9.14 km and Kalle was fastest again, but his teammate Elfyn was just three tenths down from the Finnish driver. Unfortunately, we lost EP in this one. The Finn ran wide and ended up hitting some trees, heavily damaging his i20. In WRC2 Andreas was fastest from Jari and Georg. Sami continued to lead the category from Jari who’d moved back into second pushing Emil back to third.

After the lunchtime service, SS6 Laukaa 2 – 11.78 km was won by Kalle from Takamoto and Teemu. Takamoto and Thierry now held third overall, 16 seconds from the lead. The returning Jari-Matti was learning a lot in his first drive of the GR Yaris Rally1 and having a lot of fun to boot! Sami continued to lead in WRC2 from Jari and Emil.

The second run of SS7 Lankamaa 2 – 14.21 km and again Kalle was fastest from Elfyn, just three tenths between them, and Takamoto third again. The Japanese star moved ahead of Thierry and into third overall. Jari was fastest in the WRC2 category from Sami and Nikolay who moved up into third in the category.

Into SS8 Myhinpää 2 – 15.51 km and there was drama for the world champions as Kalle and Jonne rolled their GR Yaris! Thierry won the stage from Elfyn and Takamoto with the result that the Belgian moved into second overall. Elfyn deserved to lead the rally after the exit of his teammate, the gap between him and Thierry now 10.9 seconds. Sami was still the leader of WRC2 from Jari and Nikolay.

The penultimate stage of the day, the final proper stage of Friday and Thierry was fastest from Takamoto and Elfyn, the Toyota teammates setting the same time. Elfyn’s lead remained a very strong 9.7 seconds. There was a change in WRC2 though with Jari moving into the lead of the category and Sami dropping down to second place.

The final stage then of the day, SS10 Harju 2 – 3.48 km and Takamoto set the early pace before Thierry and then Elfyn came through and went first and second fastest. It is well known the Belgian likes the small super special stages and Elfyn not so much. The gap was trimmed a little to 6.9 seconds between the top two.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day One

1	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	51:34.4
2	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+6.9
3	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+16.4
4	T. Suninen	M. Marrkula	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+28.8
5	J. M. Latvala	J. Hänninen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+1:23.7

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“We had a good start this morning, quite clean with no big mistakes. It was pretty fast-paced out there and there were a few small places where we could have been better, which can be frustrating when the gaps are only a few tenths of a second on each stage. It was quite wet on and off during the day and grip was not so high, but I generally enjoyed it in the car. The conditions caught a few people out, and unfortunately Kalle was also one of those. He was doing a great job and I was sorry to see him go out that way. There’s still a long way to go, and although tomorrow should be a drier day, we could still be in for some slippery conditions.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“We started very well this morning with the stage win in Laukaa. I like that stage, but the beginning section was new, so I was not sure how the time would be. But I felt very good with the car and we had a good run. Then in the following stages I was a bit too careful and losing quite a bit of time. The conditions this afternoon especially were very tricky and changing a lot. But overall, I’m quite happy as we’re still pretty close to the top positions. Hopefully we can continue like this tomorrow and try to push a bit more, but it will be a big day and a big challenge.”

Jari-Matti Latvala

“It’s been a great day in the car. I could never have imagined that we could be fifth overall after Friday. We haven’t been so fast, but I tried to keep everything under control and have a good rhythm. We have been about six tenths of a second per kilometre from the fastest guys, which is better than I expected, so I’m really happy with that. It’s an amazing feeling driving this car. Some of the stages have been really nice, and some of the conditions have been really difficult. We’ve not had this kind of Rally Finland with such variable conditions for a very long time. Hopefully tomorrow we can continue having a really nice experience.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“The day was going well. We had a good morning loop as the first car on the road, and it was a nice fight with Elfyn. We could be a little bit quicker without over pushing. The way we crashed was quite unfortunate and I feel like I couldn’t have done much more in this corner. Under braking, the speed felt fine, but as first car in the mud we had a big slide. Even with full lock steering I couldn’t straighten the car, and in the ditch, we hit something hard which sent us flying. It’s definitely a pity for the team and for the fans that we are out of the fight like this. Hopefully the car is OK, and we can get back out there tomorrow.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Now we have no choice; Kalle, one of our main contenders, is out, and Elfyn is also in front of us in the championship. We are fighting for a victory, and we are going to go for it. The day was good; I don’t think I have been in a position to fight for a win in Finland before. It was very challenging, lots of grip changes but we kept it all under control. We worked a bit on the car to find more speed, but we could see the Toyotas were faster. We had to keep our rhythm and make no mistakes. Tomorrow, we’re going to push even harder.”

Teemu Suninen

“I’m quite happy with today; it’s been super tricky conditions with the rain and the grip changes, but I have been comfortable with the car and managed to stay close to the front. I’ve been missing a little bit of pace, but I think if we can push to the limit then we can find it. This afternoon I was nearly flat out on the first two stages and set some good times; step by step I am improving my driving. The dream to get a podium is still alive but I need to have a good day tomorrow.”

Esapekka Lappi

“Physically, everything is ok; a swollen ankle for me but no broken bones. The accident was a pace note mistake, I was too optimistic for the right-hand corner, we were too fast, and we went into the trees. The information from my side was wrong when we did the recce. To be honest, I wanted to be closer to the lead of the rally, so I wasn’t overly satisfied with how our day was going. It is a shame we are unable to re-join the rally for the rest of the event, but the main thing is both Janne and myself, are fine. I am really sorry for the team and the Finnish fans as this was the rally, I was most looking forward to and I was eager get a strong result. We now look forward to Greece and hopefully return to the good feeling we had earlier in the season.”

Summary

Well, what an amazing first day. Lots of drama out there. What does Saturday hold? Well, there are 160km’s over eight stages. Elfyn will want to hit the ground running and look to build on his lead. Can Thierry fight back and take the lead? It will be interesting to watch and find out.

The championship continues with the ninth round of this season. Kalle and Jonne lead the race for the title and have a 55-point lead over their teammates Elfyn and Scott. This will be the 72^nd time that this event is run.

In terms of the challenge facing the crews this year there are 320km’s over 22 stages. The longest day is Saturday with 160km’s over eight stages. The action starts on Friday with the short 3.5km Harju stage.

Let’s take a look at the stages and hear from the drivers.

After shakedown on Thursday morning, Rally Finland begins with the fan-favourite 3.48km Harju 1 Super Special Stage.

Friday’s nine-stage itinerary opens with the 11.78km Laukaa stage and closes with the second attempt of the Harju super special stage.

Saturday features fewer stages yet the longest competitive distance, totalling 160.68km across two loops of Västilä, Päijälä, Rapsula and Vekkula.

Sunday will round up the rally with 54.61km and four stages, with the second run of Himos-Jämsä acting as the event’s Power Stage.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“Our home rally always feels a bit different to every other rally, especially because it’s in our hometown and because it’s a home rally for the team as well. So, there’s always more excitement and huge support from all the fans and I want to try my best to win it if we can. At the same time, we have to be clever with the championship in mind, not to waste the lead that we’ve built. Starting first on the road in Finland, it’s never easy to match the speed of the quick drivers starting behind us or catch up the time afterwards: last year we lost around 20 seconds on Friday and gained almost 15 seconds back over the rest of the rally. But let’s see what we can do this year.”

Elfyn Evans

“Rally Finland is certainly a highlight of the season, especially for the local drivers but also for myself. I always enjoy the event and I’m looking forward to it. There’s no feeling quite like driving on the Finnish rally roads, and if you can be at one with your car then I think nothing can match that in terms of enjoyment behind the wheel. I wasn’t completely satisfied in Estonia but Finland is not exactly the same: there are some different characteristics and a different setup can be required. Our testing in Finland this week is giving us a good chance to prepare and make sure we start the rally with the right setup, which is crucial.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Rally Finland is a very special rally and one that I always look forward to. I think of it like my second home rally as I pretty much grew up as a rally driver on Finnish roads. The speeds are similar to Estonia, but the feeling is totally different, because the grip from the road is usually very high. I want to improve on my speed from the last rally, and I could use my test day this week to try and understand what didn’t work for me in Estonia and to find a good car setup for the Finnish roads. I will try to enjoy the rally and push as much as I can. It’s important to get a good result for the team, for myself and my family who will be there watching too.”

Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)

“Rally Finland is always a special occasion for our team. For me it’s going to be an extra-special feeling this year to get back behind the wheel on a WRC event, and my aim as a driver will be first and foremost to enjoy that experience. The team’s target as always is to win and the focus for that is with our regular crews. There will be fantastic support for Kalle and Jonne as world champions and championship leaders, and the victory in Estonia gives them a good boost. I think Rally Finland could be a bigger challenge, with different grip levels and returning stages like Myhinpää that Kalle hasn’t driven before. Elfyn meanwhile knows what it takes to win in Finland, and we hope that he can challenge again, and also that Taka can drive with confidence on roads he usually enjoys. We can expect a close-fought rally and the team has been working hard in testing this week to give our drivers the best car possible.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Fighting for the podium in Finland will be important in terms of the championship, but it’s going to be tough. Finland is always difficult to predict; during the recce, you never really know what the actual speed will be when you arrive at certain points in your rally car, but my experience over the past years will help. Tyre choice here is very easy: only the soft tyre works, even when the temperatures are higher, because the wear isn’t that high here. You need lots of precision and protection in the car for all of the landings. The competition will be fierce. Most of them are Scandinavian drivers, so they will be hard to beat, but we are feeling confident in ourselves and the car following our podium in Estonia.”

Esapekka Lappi

“I would love to win this weekend in Finland. Regardless of the result, the atmosphere is exactly what you want to have in front of your home crowd – it’s very special. Rally Finland is an event with a lot of crests and jumps and normally quite high grip, and it is famous for the incredible speed. To prepare for the rally we have to do some endurance training, but we also need some muscle to keep our spines alive because the landings are really hard on some jumps! We had some good fights in Estonia with our competitors, and I hope we can be in the mix again – hopefully in front of them – in Finland next weekend.”

Teemu Suninen

“Rally Finland is probably my favourite rally and this year it’s going to be really interesting for us. I will take the good experience from Estonia to help prepare for Rally Finland. Almost all of the corners are over crests at least, if not jumps, and it’s an amazing feeling when the car feels like it is flying every second corner. Maintaining focus will be a bit challenging because there is always something happening, so we basically have double pace notes. It’s a lot of information coming from the co-driver as we have to be really focused and precise. I was really happy with what we achieved in Estonia, which has given me confidence we can continue to progress in Finland and make a step towards my teammates.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tänak

“Finland generally is much more demanding event than Estonia. I’ve enjoyed driving there in the past and we have had some great performances in Finland before. Estonia was very tough, and we couldn’t score points we needed from there unfortunately, but we still produced some good pace.

“Our focus is to find best possible feeling from Rally Finland shakedown and then we just push for the best possible result over the weekend!”

Pierre-Louis Loubet

“I am happy to continue on to my third rally in three weeks, it’s been a busy July! But it’s given me a lot of driving time and I think we are well prepared for Finland. We drove in very hard conditions at the weekend in Tampere, and we are ready to take on Rally Finland. The target is to do a bit better than in Estonia, stay a bit closer to Ott in terms of pace and continue our progress in the car.”

WRC2 Category

Oliver Solberg

“This rally is a special one for everybody,” said Oliver. “It’s really special for our family – I grew up watching my dad’s record-breaking run through Ouninpohja, it’s still one of the coolest places to go on YouTube!

“It’s the kind of event which goes beyond the stages; rallying is kind of a way of life in Finland and especially in Jyväskylä. Anybody who knows me knows that rallying is my way of life – so you can imagine I’m really excited about this week.

“It’s fair to say my first two attempts at this event haven’t gone completely to plan,” he said. “I didn’t finish the stages and that’s what I need to do this time. I need to get through the rally and understand more about things like the evolution of the road from the first to the second pass.

“It would be nice to win more stages this week, but the main thing is to leave with a really good understanding of Rally Finland. It’s an event which demands specific things from the car – for example you need good lateral grip as much as you need commitment and perfect pacenotes. That’s what me and Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] are working on this week.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“Finland is a very fast, soft gravel rally, the stages are beautiful and it’s really nice to drive. It’s a nice surprise for me to be here, it wasn’t originally on my programme, so I’m taking it as a nice gift after a good start to the season! I really want to enjoy this rally and the experience of being in Finland again.

“Our BRC outings are really helping with our confidence as well as development of the car, which is all good for the WRC2 campaign. The goal for Finland is to take this experience and try to be in the fight for the podium, so we’ll see where we can be. It’ll be my first time in Finland in the Rally2, so it will be interesting and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Grégoire Munster

“Our victory in Estonia in JWRC will be a big help to us in Finland, the roads are quite similar and quite fast. It was good preparation to get in the rhythm for roads that we aren’t so familiar with. There is a really strong competitor field in Finland, with lots of local, specialist drivers. It will be challenging but we’re aiming for a good result, hopefully we can show some good speed against those guys who know these roads so well.”

Summary

Well, what an iconic rally that we are awaiting the start for. The question is, who will fight at the front? It’s hard to look past the Finns that will be competing. 2017 winner, Esapekka will certainly be on the pace and given his starting position as well, will be winning stages. However, Thierry who showed really surprising pace in Estonia and led early on. Can he and Martijn show the same pace that they did in Estonia? Of course, Hyundai won this rally last year with Ott and Martin when they were there.

However, Malcolm Wilson’s M-Sport team will hope that having former Rally Finland winners Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja in one of their Puma Rally1 cars will lead to a great result. They certainly showed great pace in Estonia last time out and will be on the pace, I am sure! With their teammates, Pierre-Louis and Nicolas Gilsoul, the young Frenchman will be looking to show great pace and understand the unique nature of these stages.

Finally at Toyota, Jari-Matti will sit in an extra car, whilst Kalle, Elfyn and Takamoto go for the top times. The Welshman only has to think back three years to this rally when he and Scott took a brilliant result. They could repeat that result this weekend, and I know a certain group of fans that would be really happy with that. Takamoto could get a really good result here. It is well known that he has lived in Finland for some years and could deliver a really good performance.

The final day then and once again Ott would be opening the road over the remaining 61km’s and four stages. The start list looked like this – Tänak, Katsuta, Loubet, Suninen, Evans, Lappi,

Neuville, Rovanperä. What could the local favourite do, particularly with the power stage?

First up then was SS18 Karaski 1 – 12.04 km and Kalle continued his run winning the stage from Esapekka and Elfyn. The Finn in his i20 edged away a little more from Elfyn, the gap now 9.6 seconds between the pair. In WRC2 Sami was setting the pace with the fastest time in the stage and reducing the gap to Andreas by 2.7 seconds.

Into SS19 Kambja 1 – 18.50 km and again Kalle was setting the pace and making the most of his road position. Elfyn was second fastest and Thierry third. The Welshman’s pace brought him a little closer to EP. In WRC2 Oliver was fastest from Sami and Andreas, whilst the Norwegian remained in the lead of the category, albite with an again reduced lead of 12.6 over Sami.

The penultimate stage then SS20 Karaski 2 – 12.04 km and the top three again was Kalle from Esapekka and Thierry. There as a change in the fight between Takamoto and Pierre-Louis with the Japanese driver passing the Puma driver and moving into sixth overall. Sami was again fastest from Andreas and brought the gap to the WRC2 leader below ten seconds.

The final stage then, SS21 Kambja 2[Power Stage] – 18.50 km and Ott set the early pace before Elfyn came through and beat the time. Then all eyes were on the top three as too if they would beat the Welshman’s time. EP was first to come through and was just off the pace that Elfyn set but his third-place finish was confirmed. Then Thierry was next but was not able to beat Ott’s time. Finally, Kalle came through and set the fastest time, beating Elfyn’s best by two seconds. The top five in the stage looked like this, Kalle, Elfyn, Esapekka, Ott and Thierry. There was one final change of positions though with Pierre-Louis passing Takamoto for sixth overall, the gap at the end? Just three tenths of a second! In WRC2 Andreas took the category win, whilst Sami made it his best result in the category with second place and Emil third in his first start in the i20Rally2.

Let’s take a look at the top ten.

Final Overall Classification –Rally Estonia

1	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	2:36:03.1
2	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+52.7
3	E. Lappi	J. Ferm	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+59.5
4	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+1:06.8
5	T. Suninen	M. Marrkula	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+2:21.1
6	P. L. Loubet	N. Gilsoul	Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid	+3:09.9
7	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid	+3:10.2
8	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid	+6:25.6
9	A. Mikkelsen	T. Eriksen	Škoda Fabia RS	+9:54.1
10	S. Pajari	E. Mälkönen	Škoda Fabia RS	+10:03.8

Let’s hear from the drivers.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It is an amazing feeling to achieve our 10th WRC win here in Estonia and to win this rally for the third time in a row. For me it’s a really nice rally and one I have always enjoyed. This weekend was something special, winning all the stages from Saturday morning onwards. I think we showed our speed and what the car can do quite well, so I’m really happy. We did a good job with Jonne, driving at this speed without really having any moments, and pushing all the time but still enjoying the driving, which is not always the case in rallying. I felt happy in the car and I was enjoying the nice stages and the great support we had here. It was also amazing to celebrate with Sato-san just after the stage and on the podium afterwards – he was so happy.”

Elfyn Evans

“We were in a pretty intense fight throughout the weekend for the podium places and naturally it’s disappointing not to have made it in the end. We weren’t a million miles away but unfortunately, we just fell a bit short. On Friday it took some time to feel comfortable and I think that’s when the majority of the damage was done in terms of our road position for the rest of the rally. Well done to Kalle who was dominant this weekend. It’s hard to be satisfied with our result but we come away with some good points from the Power Stage and from the rally. It’s also a good warm-up for Rally Finland and we’ll work hard over the next week to try and do better there.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“There have been some positives and some negatives for me this weekend. It has been good to finish the rally without any mistakes or moments, so it has been quite a clean weekend. But I was lacking speed in many places and that is what I need to improve for the next event. I was struggling a lot in the beginning, and after that the feeling was improving but I still wanted to show more speed and I can’t be happy with my performance. I will try to take the positives, to analyse what we did here and try to improve for Rally Finland. Congratulations to Kalle, Jonne and the whole team for the win.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“I am very happy to finish on the podium; this is a good boost of motivation for both the team and myself. I have never been so fast at rallies like this. Looking forward to Finland, this is a great sign as we can clearly see we have improved our car on high-speed gravel. Of course, we had hoped that we could finish in front of Kalle, who had another incredible weekend and there was nothing we could do to fight him. On our side it was a very strong performance, and I am very satisfied. We made no mistakes, and we were able to push, as well as keep cars behind us. Hopefully we can do a little bit more for Rally Finland and be fighting again for podium positions.”

Esapekka Lappi

“It has been a strong weekend for our team. I think we were closer to Toyota than we all expected to be, but still a bit too far behind, which we need to keep working on. This is the first time I have been flat out for three days in a row fighting with someone – Elfyn was really fast here last year so it was fantastic to win this battle. Thank you to the team; we didn’t have any problems this weekend except from the hybrid, which was my fault. We have done a good job on the testing and development of the car, so we just need to continue that. There is still work to do but as we can see from these results, we are heading in the right direction.”

Teemu Suninen

“It is a really special feeling to finish fifth. I’m sure Craig has been following my weekend. It would have been nice to have finished on the podium for him, but we didn’t manage it here. I have done all I can to try and work as he had been working, and it’s been an emotional rally for me. I would like to say a big thanks to Hyundai Motorsport and everyone in the team; it is a super environment to work in. We were able to make good progress with our driving and experience of the car, and we were improving our times stage by stage. I enjoyed every one of them and I am grateful for the support of the team to help me become an even better driver.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Pierre-Louis Loubet

“I think in general we can be happy about our pace, especially when you compare to last year. We made some good steps, and some stages we were very close to Ott, and I know Ott is using the full potential of the car. For me it’s a very good comparison, he’s the best kind of driver on these rallies.”

Ott Tӓnak

“Reaching the top eight was the target, and we achieved that. I would say our strength came from the small rally we did in Estonia last week, we were already in a high speed rhythm compared to everyone else. It was clear to see how our one-day rally experience before made our speed better. But it was a fun weekend and we’ve had a nice experience with the fans.

“I would say we are at maximum capacity at the minute. For sure, Finland is very specific so we will do a one-day test to do a bit of fine-tuning, but there aren’t any plans for big changes.”

 

Summary

Well, what can I say about the winner? Kalle showed again why he’s our world champion and took his second win of this year. Elfyn had a great rally although he was not particularly happy but battled well for the final step on the podium with EP. Takamoto drove well and avoided any mistakes.

 

At Hyundai it was a surprise to see Thierry run so well at the front and ultimately take a very good second place to boost his championship run. Any attempt to challenge for victory came to an end with the tyre off the rim and then he got his head down and pulled away again from his teammate, EP and Elfyn. Esapekka showed well again taking another very good third place and yet another podium. Finally, Teemu’s drive to fifth overall again showed his class and quality in his debut in the Rally1 i20. No mistakes all weekend.

 

Finally at M-Sport it was a case of what might have been for the fan favourite! Ott would have certainly battled with Kalle at the front were it not for the five-minute penalty after an engine change following shakedown. His French teammate, Pierre-Louis again had a great event, with consistently good pace and even though he had the extra boost in stage seven giving him extra pace, his third best time in that stage showed that he really is starting to show his quality.

 

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 8

1	K. Rovanperä	170
2	E. Evans	115
3	T. Neuville	112
4	O. Tänak	104
5	S. Ogier	98
6	E. Lappi	87
7	D. Sordo	46
8	T. Katsuta	41
9	P.L Loubet	28
10	C. Breen	19
11	T. Suninen	19

 

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 8

1	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team	331
2	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	274
3	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	195

 

Next round is Rally Finland, the ninth round of the championship from the 3^rd to the 6^th of August.

The second full day of action had 106km’s over nine stages. Ott Tanak would open the road throughout the second day.

Into the first stage then, SS9 Mäeküla 1 – 10.27 km and Kalle was fastest from Thierry and Elfyn. The Welshman closed the gap to EP who was holding third. Ott was now in eleventh overall and just 6.2 seconds from the points paying positions. Andreas remained in charge of WRC2 holding a 9.3 second lead over Gus whilst Sami held third.

Kalle made it two in a row winning SS10 Otepää 1 – 11.15 km also with Thierry and Elfyn second and third fastest. Elfyn’s morning pace was bringing him close to Esapekka, the gap now just seven tenths of a second! Meanwhile Ott jumped up two places and into ninth overall and was just eight seconds from WRC2 leader Andreas.

After the regroup and tyre fitting zone there was the second run of SS11 Mäeküla 2 – 10.27 km. Kalle was fastest again but this time EP was second fastest from Elfyn, whilst Thierry was fourth. The gap between Elfyn and Esapekka rose very slightly to 1.2 seconds. Ott moved into eighth place, pushing WRC2 leader Andreas down to ninth, whilst Sami passed Gus for second place in the category.

Kalle was really on a roll now, winning SS12 Otepää 2 – 11.15 km from Esapekka and Elfyn. Thierry fell away from the battle for the lead as he suffered from a tyre coming away from the wheel rim. In WRC2 Andreas remained in the lead, but Sami edged a little closer by a few tenths of a second.

After the service break, we had a whole new set of stages for the crews to tackle, starting with SS13 Elva 1 – 11.73 km. This stage included a visit to a rally cross circuit. The top three was Kalle, Thierry and EP. The Finns lead over the Belgian was now 23.9 seconds and EP was also gapping Elfyn, there being a gap now of two and a half seconds. There was no change in the WRC2 category with Andreas still leading, but the gap did come down a little to 16.3 seconds to Sami who was faster in the stage.

Into SS14 Kanepi 1 – 16.48 km and again Kalle was fastest from Thierry and Esapekka. The Finn in his i20 was opening a gap to Elfyn and now was ahead by 3.7 seconds. There was no change either with the top three in the WRC2 category.

Kalle again was fastest in SS15 Elva 2 – 11.73 km but this time from his teammate Elfyn who was one second faster than EP, thus reducing the gap again, whilst Thierry was third fastest.

In the next one, SS16 Kanepi 2 – 16.48 km Kalle again was fastest from Thierry and Esapekka and Elfyn was fourth, losing more time to EP. The gap was now 5.6 seconds. In WRC2 Sami edged a little closer to Andreas, bringing the gap down to 15.1 seconds. The young Finn was eyeing up a category win.

Onto the final stage, run near the service park and a bit of a mickey mouse stage really, SS17 Tartu vald 2 – 3.35 km. Last run-on Thursday evening and as the opening stage of the event. Kalle made it a clean sweep of all nine stages, winning this one as well from EP and Thierry. WRC2 category leader was sixth fastest in the stage.

Let’s take a look at the top positions.

Classification after Day Two

1	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	2:05:29.3
2	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+34.9
3	E. Lappi	J. Ferm	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+45.4
4	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+52.7
5	T. Suninen	M. Marrkula	Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid	+1:41.5
6	P. L. Loubet	N. Gilsoul	Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid	+2:25.5
7	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+2:32.5
8	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid	+5:552

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It’s been an amazing day. It doesn’t happen so often that you can win all the stages in one day. We had a clear plan this morning to push hard and get a bit of a gap if we can, and to make use of our better starting place. It was a bit easier to match the speed, we had a clean morning and gained a lot of time. This afternoon I really enjoyed the stages, and it went well, the feeling was great in the car. Tomorrow is still a tricky day, with a new stage that is quite technical, so we need to stay sharp, do a good job and then hopefully we can have a final push on the Power Stage.”

Elfyn Evans

“It has been a pretty close battle with Esapekka: there has been a fair bit of back and forth between us during the day and we’ve both enjoyed the fight. It was particularly tight this morning: I took a bit in the first couple of stages, and then he took exactly the same amount back. The gap went a bit more in his favour towards the end of the day, so it’s a bit bigger now than we would like. The longer stage this afternoon maybe didn’t suit us so well and we conceded a bit too much time there. But it’s still relatively close and all to play for tomorrow. We’re going to give it everything we have and see what we can do.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Together with the team we changed a few things on the car last night and we made a good step forward with the setup, so I felt much better than yesterday. Of course, I was struggling a bit with the grip because of our starting position, which we knew would be the case. But other than that, it was going well this morning. I was trying to improve my driving more this afternoon, but then many things happened. We had a few issues with the car and the intercom, and it was a bit difficult to work out what was going on, but we got through all the stages OK and that’s the main thing.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“I enjoyed today; we were driving the car to its maximum most of the time and having a lot of fun while still feeling comfortable, which was key. We made no mistakes and had no moments, but we got unlucky with a puncture, which cost us a few seconds. The goal tomorrow is to bring home the result, but Esapekka and Elfyn are pushing hard behind us. Esapekka has had an incredible day – I felt I was driving really well, and we were nearly matching times in the stages, which shows that our car is giving us what we need to go fast. We have been strong in the past here and the car feels good, but we are clearly missing something that would get us closer to Kalle.”

Esapekka Lappi

“I think this is the first time in my career where I have had this kind of fight for position over two days. We struggled to build a bigger gap in the forest, but it is impressive that on the super special we managed to stretch the gap a fair bit. It has been up and down against Elfyn, but it has been a nice battle. I took more risks in the afternoon and drove on the limit more It has been enjoyable, but I thought I gave everything on SS15 – maybe even a little bit more – and so for the time to not be impressive was quite frustrating. We will do everything we can to stay ahead tomorrow; while we all know the Power Stage, there is also a brand new one which can always throw up some surprises.”

Teemu Suninen

“Step by step, we have been able to improve and increase our pace today. I am thankful to Dani; he has been like a big brother to me, helping with my first steps in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid. There were two stages where we lost just over a second, so we are not far away however, I still need a bit more rhythm to maintain a consistently good pace. Now there is a risk that we make a mistake; we haven’t had a single moment so far, which might mean there is a bit of margin to go faster, but to be honest I need the kilometres. As I’m in the third car, I need to be in a good position to bring home points in case anything happens tomorrow.”

Sunday

The final day sees the crews tackle 61km’s over four stages with a service break in the middle. Can Kalle continue in the same form and win all the final stages, or will we see another stage winner?